Microsoft

 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Mac Mojo: The Office for Mac Team Blog

  • Special Guest Blog Post: Making connections with Office for Mac

    Marshall Nam
    4 Feb 2010 | 4:02 pm
    We’ve got a special guest blog post from a Tristan, a Microsoft Student Partner who’ll be joining us at MacWorld booth this year. We’re excited to have him helping us out this year, so I've asked him to introduce himself to our blog readers before we head to SF. - Marshall   Hello Mac Mojo Readers! My name is Tristan Gibeau. I’m a graduate student in computer engineering at the University of Central Florida and a Microsoft Student Partner and happy to be a guest blogger on Mac Mojo.  As a Mac user, I have people ask me, “Tristan, why did you buy a…

  • Find out how Office for Mac Loves You—and maybe get a new MacBook Pro too!

    Mac Mojo Team
    31 Jan 2010 | 11:01 am
    In advance of Macworld (and just in time for Valentine’s Day), the MacBU has put together a little something to open the lines of communication with Office for Mac users through popular social media channels—not to mention giving away custom-color, 2.53 GHz MacBook Pros through twitter!   While we've been listening to you here on the blog and elsewhere, we're now eager to participate in the conversations that are happening on twitter and facebook. We will continue to find better ways to provide useful content here…

  • 2009 in Review

    Eric Wilfrid
    22 Dec 2009 | 1:12 pm
     As 2009 draws to a close, I’d like to take some time to reflect on the year here in the MacBU. It’s been a big year for Office 2008, with several significant updates that make your work easier. In 2009, we also got to look forward, sharing the first news with our community about the next major version we have coming down the pipe. In fact, I’m using that version right now, writing this post in a “dogfood” version of Word for Mac - being in the “dogfood” phase means that my team and I use the new Office to get our day-to-day work done. In doing…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Windows Live team blog

  • An engineering blog for Windows Live

    4 Feb 2010 | 1:32 pm
    Chris Jones, the Corporate Vice President for Windows Live, recently launched a new engineering blog called Inside Windows Live. The new blog provides a place for engineers and others who work on Windows Live to share insight into what it takes to build and maintain the Windows Live products and services, how they’re distributed and used worldwide, as well as some of the reasoning behind how and why we’ve built things in particular ways. It is written for an audience of software engineers, web industry folks, and anyone else who want to dig a little deeper into the technical details of…

  • Be more productive with Hotmail in 2010!

    28 Jan 2010 | 8:48 pm
    Did you know that you can do mail faster and easier with features that Hotmail recently added to allow for more productivity with e-mail? Here are seven ways to be more productive that were added in recent months: (1) Auto-complete. Hotmail auto-completes as you type e-mail addresses in the “To:” line when you’re composing a new message. We’ve made Hotmail smarter so that contacts you’ve recently e-mailed will appear closer to the top of the auto-complete list.  For example, if you have 10 Michaels in your address book, but always e-mail Michael Z, he will appear at the top of the…

  • Lots and lots of storage

    11 Jan 2010 | 9:31 am
    There’s a lot of free storage for people using Windows Live these days.  In Dallas, TX, there is a Hotmail user named Ryan who uses 23GB of e-mail storage, for free.  There’s Martin in Germany, who uses 21GB, and Yara in Brazil, who uses 19GB for free.  And, as these users and the millions more like them who continue to use e-mail to share photos and communicate with friends need more space, Windows Live keeps giving them all they need. Free. Beyond e-mail, we are building the best place for your photos and documents on the web, powered by tons of free and secure storage with Windows…

  • Resolve to get organized in 2010

    17 Dec 2009 | 3:28 pm
    It’s the time to year to make—and keep—resolutions. But rather than saving the world or sticking to an impossible diet, we suggest practical stuff. Like getting organized. Staying in touch. Doing everyday tasks just a little bit faster. Little things like these can add up to big changes. Who knows, maybe 2010 will be the year you finally accomplish that big goal, or become the outstanding friend/kid/partner/date/employee you always wanted to be. The world awaits your glorious transformation! Try these fun and easy ways to enhance your life: Resolution 1: Organize your schedule Still…

  • Movie Maker: YouTube publishing issue now resolved

    10 Dec 2009 | 1:23 pm
    It came to our attention late last week that a change was made on YouTube.com resulting in a failure to publish movies directly from Windows Live Movie Maker.  The change was minor and behind-the-scenes, but unfortunately it did affect Movie Maker and the way it authenticates with the YouTube service for a set of our users.  This change wasn’t specific to Movie Maker – some other applications and websites that connect to YouTube were also affected. Once users let us know, we alerted the YouTube team who promptly rolled out an update to the service, restoring the ability to publish from…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    IEBlog

  • W3C SVG Working Group Update for January 2010

    ieblog
    1 Feb 2010 | 5:08 pm
    In this post, I want to share some examples of the progress going on in the SVG Working Group. Microsoft recently joined the SVG Working Group, and other members (Mozilla, Apple and Opera among others) welcomed us warmly. I'm hopeful about the ways that SVG (both its current direction and future potential) could make the web better. We want the spec to be clear, consistent, and predictable for developers. We’re working out ambiguities such as “Pointer events and clip-paths”, “CSS Selectors <use> and as well as inconsistencies with stroked-dasharray” and “<use> and its…

  • IE Cumulative Security Update Now Available

    ieblog
    21 Jan 2010 | 10:52 am
    Today we released a Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer.  We’ve released this Cumulative Security Update earlier than originally scheduled based on malicious activities reported on the web. The update is available via Windows Update and Microsoft Update. Most users configure their machines to update automatically; you can find more information on that here. This update actually includes 236 separate packages for all the different languages and versions of Windows and IE that customers run and Microsoft supports worldwide. We release these packages simultaneously for all…

  • Add-on Guidelines in Action – Crawler Toolbar

    ieblog
    14 Jan 2010 | 1:52 pm
    A new version of the Crawler Toolbar has recently been released and comes with many improvements to the user experience similar to the changes we described in a previous post about the AVG Security Toolbar. It’s another great example of the Guidelines for add-on developers in action. Here are some high-level examples of the changes they’ve made: The close button is visible so that users can manage it like other toolbars. Additionally, the toolbar is positioned in a supported location which improves stability and performance. It no longer modifies the new tab page to maintain a predictable…

  • Microsoft Joins W3C SVG Working Group

    ieblog
    5 Jan 2010 | 2:10 pm
    As a part of Microsoft’s continued commitment to interoperability and standards support, yesterday we submitted our request to join the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) Working Group of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). We’re excited to take part in ensuring future versions of the SVG spec will meet the needs of developers and end users. As stated on its Web site, “the mission of the SVG Working Group is to continue the evolution of Scalable Vector Graphics as a format and a platform, and enhance the adoption and usability of SVG in combination with other technologies.” We recognize…

  • Welcome 2010!

    ieblog
    1 Jan 2010 | 10:35 am
    Happy Nw Year!
 
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    CNET News - Microsoft

  • Microsoft denies Windows 7 battery problem

    Ina Fried
    8 Feb 2010 | 1:30 pm
    The software maker says that an error message warning users that their batteries may need replacing appears to be working as intended, despite some complaints. Originally posted at Beyond Binary

  • Microsoft dropping FAST search for Linux, Unix

    Dave Rosenberg
    6 Feb 2010 | 9:57 am
    Microsoft is getting set to phase out its FAST enterprise search offerings for Linux and Unix. Will customers move to cloud-based search or move to Windows? Originally posted at Software, Interrupted

  • Facebook takes over its display ads from Microsoft

    Ina Fried
    5 Feb 2010 | 9:45 am
    In a blog posting, Microsoft says it will expand its search ad partnership with Facebook, but notes that it has lost the rest of the display ad business it had with the social network. Originally posted at Beyond Binary

  • Microsoft ending Xbox Live support for older games

    Ina Fried
    5 Feb 2010 | 9:22 am
    The software maker says that after April 15 it will no longer allow online play of games for the original Xbox. Originally posted at Beyond Binary

  • Microsoft readies Office 2010 upgrade program

    Ina Fried
    4 Feb 2010 | 4:42 pm
    An employee of the software maker briefly posted details of a "technology guarantee" program that will start next month. The post is now down, but lives on in a Google-cached version. Originally posted at Beyond Binary
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    All about Microsoft

  • Microsoft's Windows 7 chief: It's not us; it's your batteries

    Mary Jo Foley
    8 Feb 2010 | 1:34 pm
    Windows President Steven Sinofsky posted to the Engineering Windows 7 blog about the growing number of alleged battery-notification issues reported by some customers over the past week. If you want to know all about battery performance, telemetry data, and more, read his full February 8 post. If you don't have time, here's the synopsis: It's not us; it's your batteries.

  • A leaner, meaner Visual Studio 2010 Release Candidate expected later this week

    Mary Jo Foley
    8 Feb 2010 | 12:58 pm
    Microsoft is poised to release the near-final Release Candidate (RC) test build of Visual Studio 2010 later this week, according to a mention on February 8 on a Microsoft development blog. The Softies are promising a leaner, meaner development suite, with the RC -- the last test build before VS2010 launches in April.

  • Is Windows 7 reliability fix making PCs less reliable?

    Mary Jo Foley
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:55 am
    There are reports in a TechNet forum that claim a recently released reliability and stability patch for Windows 7 may end up making some PCs less reliable and stable. The Ars Technica site discovered the thread about the fix, KB977074, late last week. Microsoft officials said they are aware of the issue but say that, so far, it's not a major one.

  • Windows 7 battery update: Still no conclusive findings

    Mary Jo Foley
    5 Feb 2010 | 3:56 pm
    Microsoft and its PC maker partners are continuing to investigate battery problems which some Windows 7 users have said they've been experiencing. So far, there's nothing new to report, Microsoft officials said on Friday, February 5.

  • Microsoft to phase out its enterprise search offerings for Linux and Unix

    Mary Jo Foley
    5 Feb 2010 | 12:09 pm
    Microsoft is going to be phasing out support for Unix and Linux platforms for its FAST enterprise search products as of their next release (some time after 2010). Microsoft shared that information, as well as other news about its near- and longer-term search plans as part of its latest update to its enterprise-search roadmap, which it made public on February 4
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Bing Developer Blog

  • SourceType code samples on MSDN

    george
    8 Feb 2010 | 1:38 pm
    Whether you are new to the Bing API or have been working with it for some time, you may not be aware of the SourceType code samples available on the Microsoft Developer Network. A SourceType is a source of information accessible to the API, and you can include multiple SourceTypes in a single request, which is preferable to creating multiple requests. Specifically, code samples are available for: Ad SourceType (Bing, Version 2.0) Image SourceType (Bing, Version 2.0) InstantAnswer SourceType (Bing, Version 2.0) MobileWeb SourceType (Bing, Version 2.1) News SourceType (Bing, Version 2.0)…

  • Bing Developer FAQs available for download

    george
    5 Jan 2010 | 11:12 am
    Got questions about the API, SourceTypes, working with PHP? The answers to these and other Bing developer "frequently asked questions" now are available in a single document:  Download the Bing Developer FAQs now (512 KB .pdf)   These are the same FAQs that have always been available in the  Bing Toolbox support center. We just wanted to provide the FAQs in a single, indexed document as a convenient alternative to searching online. If you have questions or comments, please post them to the Developer forum. The forum also is a good source for help and advice from…

  • Webcast: See What's New with Bing Maps

    george
    3 Dec 2009 | 9:22 am
    Join Bing Maps technical evangelist Chris Pendleton to learn about the latest innovations in the Bing Maps Platform that can help you take your Web mapping solution to the next level.  Hear about Deep Zoom and multimedia integration possible in the new Silverlight Control and see how the latest release allows developers to show data in more innovative, powerful, and faster ways.  Attend this webcast to stay at the forefront of mapping innovations with Bing Maps. Date: Thursday, December 10, 2009Time: 10 A.M. Pacific Standard Time Register today to attend this webcast. The rich…

  • Finding the page not found is now even easier

    Kristin
    18 Nov 2009 | 11:05 am
    When we launched last year the first version of our Web Page Error Toolkit we got a lot of interest from the community and lots of feedback on how we could make it better.   This year not only have we revamped the existing Windows/IIS version, but we have also listened to your feedback and the full source code is now available on Codeplex in open source under MS-PL.   Also, thanks to the help of our colleagues in the interoperability team, we have today the pleasure to announce a version of the Web Page Error Toolkit for PHP users that can work on Apache as well as IIS and is not…

  • New tools, guidelines for Bing Maps

    george
    10 Nov 2009 | 10:49 am
    The newly-released Bing Maps Silverlight Control (Version 1.0) provides some great new feaures, and the Terms of Use has been updated: Bing Maps Silverlight Control 1.0 Released Watch a 4-minute video introduction to the Silverlight Control Bing Maps Terms of Use Changes; Benefit Educators, Not-for-Profits and Developers Bing Maps Gets An Overhaul…And, Some New Features  
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Bing Community

  • New Bing Maps Application: Winter Games

    Chris Pendleton
    9 Feb 2010 | 2:14 am
    Not going to Vancouver for the Olympic games? Well, we’ve got everything you need right in Bing Maps’ new application: Winter Games. In coordination with NBCOlympics.com, get up to the minute information about the 2010 Winter Olympics in everything from venues to news. Click the Venues bar on the left to see the different venues where the events are taking place. Click the Medal Count bar to see every country mapped out with the number of bronze, silver and gold medals awarded to the respective country. Click the Winter Games News and Blogs to get the latest information about the…

  • New Bing Maps Book Helps Developers

    Chris Pendleton
    9 Feb 2010 | 12:29 am
    Parlez-Vous Français? Well, if you do and you want to learn how to build applications using The Bing Maps Platform have I got a book for you. Yesterday, at Microsoft Tech Days France, I met Nicolas Boonaert who is the author of the first and only book about Bing Maps, “Bing Maps - Guide complet de la cartographie interactive (Broché).” Now, this is not to be confused with my good friend Chandu Thota’s book “Programming MapPoint in .NET” or Microsoft Research’s (and former MapPoint Technical Evangelist) B.J. Holtgrewe’s “MapPoint…

  • Bing Maps Powers The National Grid

    Chris Pendleton
    8 Feb 2010 | 11:59 pm
    Remember when President Obama announced support for a national smart grid? Well, we’re seeing some of this money being put to good use on the National Grid web site in the form of smart grid data visualization using The Bing Maps Platform. In partnership with iFactor Consulting, The National Grid now has 5 areas (Massachusetts, Nantucket, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Upstate New York) online outlining coverage areas and pinpoint outage issues in a simple to use application. In a mail from Brad Selio,” National Grid US recently completed the release of a new section of their…

  • SourceType code samples on MSDN

    george
    8 Feb 2010 | 1:38 pm
    Whether you are new to the Bing API or have been working with it for some time, you may not be aware of the SourceType code samples available on the Microsoft Developer Network. A SourceType is a source of information accessible to the API, and you can include multiple SourceTypes in a single request, which is preferable to creating multiple requests. Specifically, code samples are available for: Ad SourceType (Bing, Version 2.0) Image SourceType (Bing, Version 2.0) InstantAnswer SourceType (Bing, Version 2.0) MobileWeb SourceType (Bing, Version 2.1) News SourceType (Bing, Version 2.0)…

  • Bing and MSN your Olympics Hub

    bingteam
    5 Feb 2010 | 5:09 pm
    We’re T-4.5 days from the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics Games. Who are you excited to see flying down the men’s downhill course or dancing across the ice? Will you be rooting for your homeland or just your favorite event? Do you know anyone crazy enough to get on one of those luge sleds? Making the trip to Canada or are you planning on enjoying the games from the comfort of your own home? With only a few days before the games begin, it’s time to get prepared. Whether you’re at the games or watching from afar, we want you to get the most out of the 2010…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Bing News: Bing

  • Burger King worker who plotted to sell his sister to Chinese man in ... - Daily Mail

    9 Feb 2010 | 9:19 am
    A fast food worker who was set to make £8,000 from selling his vulnerable sister into a sham marriage has been jailed today. Michael Wright, 22, was ‘seduced by money’ as he plotted the scam with three Chinese immigrants who he had met at the ...

  • Research by Wunderman Finds Link Between Brand Building and Search ... - TMCnet

    9 Feb 2010 | 9:19 am
    What this means if you are managing a brand is this: you need to know how consumers relate to Bing, Yahoo! or Google and how that reflects on you." In this first-of-its-kind research, loyal users of Bing, Yahoo! and Google were found to have distinct ...

  • Food Recipes Entertaining - Beaches Leader

    9 Feb 2010 | 8:21 am
    (ARA) - The winter temptations of hot chocolate, mashed potatoes, warm pumpkin pie and other enticing treats can launch you into a comfort zone. But they can also make your New Year's getting-in-shape resolutions harder to achieve. This year, get ...

  • Bing Torres comes home - Manila Bulleting Online

    8 Feb 2010 | 8:04 pm
    The ashes of former Manila Bulletin News Editor Bing Torres will be flown in from Melbourne this Tuesday, February 9. His wife Josie and daughters will bring over his ashes for burial at the St. Therese Columbarium in Nichols, Pasay City on February ...

  • Google's China problem leaves opening for Bing - Ars Technica

    8 Feb 2010 | 11:57 am
    Earlier this month , Google unleashed one of the year's biggest technology stories by announcing it was no longer interested in working with the Chinese government to censor search results, and by threatening to cease operations in the communist ...
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    The Seattle Times: Microsoft Pri0

  • Microsoft and Facebook end advertising deal

    5 Feb 2010 | 11:05 am
    Microsoft and Facebook have ended their advertising deal for Microsoft to sell display ads on the social network. The company made the announcement in a blog post by Bing general manager Jon Tinter today, slipped in below news that they were expanding their search relationship. Here is the blog post. The two companies are expanding their search relationship internationally, which had been limited to the U.S. Facebook users will also get access to more Bing search engine features than they previously had. The two companies began their ad partnership in 2006, when Microsoft also invested $240…

  • Former Microsoft VP calls out Microsoft for lack of innovation in NYT editorial

    4 Feb 2010 | 3:19 pm
    A former Microsoft vice president called out Microsoft for a lack of innovation in a New York Times editorial Thursday. Dick Brass, who was a Microsoft executive from 1997 to 2004, dissected how Microsoft's culture stunts innovation and compares the company to General Motors. Ouch. (As in Windows and Office are like General Motors' SUVs and trucks.) Here is a link to the editorial. With the recent announcement about Apple's iPad, Brass asks the question "... why Microsoft, America's most famous and prosperous technology company, no longer brings us the future ..." He goes on to call Microsoft…

  • Microsoft Azure offers free cloud computing for NSF researchers

    4 Feb 2010 | 11:51 am
    Microsoft is providing free cloud computing access on Azure to National Science Foundation researchers. The National Science Foundation is seeking project proposals and plans to award $5 million in grants to fund research that will use Azure to analyze research data. Microsoft began selling Azure on Monday. The platform allows developers to build and store software and data in Microsoft-run servers rather than on a PC or a server located at a company or university. The proliferation of data has become a burden for scientists and research institutions to store and manage, whether it's climate…

  • Another Windows exec Mike Nash is leaving Microsoft

    3 Feb 2010 | 12:26 pm
    Mike Nash, another longtime Windows executive, is leaving Microsoft. Nash was corporate vice president for Windows product management and has worked at Microsoft for 19 years. He is leaving to join the Kindle group at Amazon.com. Nash has left an imprint in many places at Microsoft. He was the first product manager on the Windows NT marketing team, oversaw Microsoft.com and worked on computing security. The company released a statement about Nash's departure saying: "In his 19 years, Mike has made an impact in a number of key roles at the company. We appreciate his service and wish him well."…

  • Microsoft cloud Azure opens for business

    3 Feb 2010 | 11:59 am
    The Microsoft cloud, Azure, opened for business on Monday. (This story is a day because I took Monday off after pulling a breaking-news shift in the newsroom on Sunday.) Microsoft had been testing its cloud-computing platform, Windows Azure and SQL Azure, throughout January, and began charging on Feb. 1. The cloud represents a huge investment for Microsoft, which built large data centers in Chicago, San Antonio and Dublin last year. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said in a speech last week, "There’s no question that the big thing that’s going on today is the shift to the cloud."…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    The Microsoft Blog

  • Microsoft Bing searches jumped by half in 2009, comScore says

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:17 am
    A growing but obviously still trailing Microsoft Bing fielded nearly half as many more U.S. searches last year than it did in 2008, analysis firm comScore said Tuesday, outpacing Google's growth rate and the industry average.

  • Microsofties' new idea: Dual-purpose Pakistani school

    8 Feb 2010 | 8:00 pm
    Microsoft employees Umaimah Mendhro and Mona Akmal chit-chat away, talking less to their interviewer than to each other. Once you get them on a roll about their charity, Dreamfly, you can barely stop them.

  • Windows Mobile still on 18% of U.S. smartphones

    8 Feb 2010 | 2:52 pm
    Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system was running on 18 percent of U.S. smartphones by the end of December, according to comScore. That's down one point from WinMo's market share in September.

  • Windows 7 battery issue not an issue, Microsoft says

    8 Feb 2010 | 1:34 pm
    A reported issue with Microsoft Windows 7 – that it warns users they need to change their laptop batteries when they don't – does not actually seem to be an issue, Microsoft said Monday.

  • Google Super Bowl ad? Yep. But why?

    8 Feb 2010 | 12:00 pm
    Unless you live in a cave – or, you know, had better things to do Sunday afternoon – you were watching the Super Bowl. And if you were watching the Super Bowl, maybe you saw Google's "Parisian Love" ad.
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Ed Bott's Microsoft Report

  • Touchscreens in the tropics: an unexpected Windows story

    Ed Bott
    8 Feb 2010 | 8:38 pm
    I've been on vacation for the past week or so, on a beach in Hawaii, mostly disconnected from the tech world. So it was a pleasant surprise today to encounter a relevant tech story in Paradise, one that demonstrates both the strengths and weaknesses of the Windows platform.

  • Will your new Windows 7 PC support XP Mode?

    Ed Bott
    3 Feb 2010 | 11:07 am
    Last year, when I looked at Intel CPUs, I identified a potential sticking point for Windows 7 upgraders: many then-current CPU models didn't support hardware-assisted virtualization. A year later, has the situation improved? Yes, but with one noteworthy exception you'll have a hard time getting information from big PC makers.

  • Can Microsoft close the app gap with Apple's iPad?

    Ed Bott
    1 Feb 2010 | 10:50 am
    Microsoft and its partners have been shipping Tablet PCs for nearly a decade. And yet when the Apple iPad ships in a few months it will do a much better job of implementing those features than any of Microsoft's partners have done so far. Why? Because Apple understands something that Microsoft has yet to figure out: Apps matter. Here's what Microsoft has to do to catch up.

  • Unlock thumbnail previews for Firefox 3.6 on Windows 7

    Ed Bott
    26 Jan 2010 | 8:54 am
    Firefox users, if you're running the most recent release on Windows 7 you need to make a tiny tweak to your browser's configuration. It defeats the purpose of Aero's cool taskbar thumbnails feature if you have to open a window before you can scan which browser tabs you have open. IE8 shows all open tabs in thumbnail previews when you point to its icon. So how do you add the same feature to Firefox 3.6? I explain.

  • A fast fix for IE8 crashes, slowdowns

    Ed Bott
    25 Jan 2010 | 5:30 am
    Is Internet Explorer 8 acting sluggish or crashing regularly? The problem might be a corrupted add-in. And one of the most likely candidates is the widely used Adobe Flash Player. In this post, I'll explain how you can troubleshoot IE8 issues by completely removing the Flash Player.
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    TechFlash

  • Microsoft says Windows 7 battery warnings are a feature, not a bug

    8 Feb 2010 | 1:53 pm
    Microsoft's investigation of reports about errant Windows 7 battery messages has shown that the warnings are actually accurate, according to a blog post this afternoon by Steven Sinofsky, the Windows president. Sinofsky's post also explains why the alerts surprised some users: The messages result from a new feature in Windows 7 that alerts users when their batteries are performing at 40 percent or less of designed capacity.

  • Microsoft makes list of Best Places to Work, Amazon doesn't

    8 Feb 2010 | 12:12 pm
    A technology company has been named the best place to work by Fortune magazine, but it is not the usual suspects of Google, Cisco or Microsoft. Nope, it is perk-heavy SAS, which according Fortune offers employees child care, unlimited sick days and free access to a 66,000 square-foot fitness center. The Cary, North Carolina maker of business analytics software -- with revenue of $2.3 billion last year -- actually rose 20 spots to claim the honor.

  • Microsoft loses Facebook display ads, but expands search deal

    5 Feb 2010 | 10:49 am
    Good news and bad news for Microsoft this morning in its Facebook relationship.

  • Microsoft pays the price, literally, for Bing's bigger market share

    5 Feb 2010 | 8:51 am
    Microsoft has made some precious progress against Google in recent months, with its Bing search engine pushing the company's share of the U.S. market above 10 percent for the first time in more than two years.

  • R.I.P., Halo 2 on Xbox Live

    5 Feb 2010 | 2:56 am
    Those nostalgic stragglers still battling it out in multiplayer "Halo 2" campaigns on Xbox Live might want to put down the battle rifles and plasma pistols, and gaze one last time across the sands of Zanzibar.
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Microsoft Windows

  • How do I create shutdown shortcuts in Microsoft Windows 7?

    Mark Kaelin
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:29 am
    One of the most often requested Microsoft Windows tweaks is for shortcuts that shut down, power down, and restart a Windows session. The procedure for Windows 7 is very similar to that of Vista and XP, but now you can pin those freshly created shortcuts to the Start Menu or the Taskbar or both. This blog post is also available as a TechRepublic Photo Gallery and TechRepublic download. Creating a shortcut Creating a shortcut should be familiar to almost everyone, but we will walk through the process just for clarity. There are other ways to accomplish this task, but this is my preferred…

  • Poll: How far behind has Microsoft fallen in the innovation race?

    Mark Kaelin
    5 Feb 2010 | 7:30 am
    My colleague over at ZDNet, Mary Jo Foley, recently blogged about Microsoft’s lack of innovation. Her post “Microsoft’s Challenge: Innovation, Innovation, Innovation” wondered out loud whether Microsoft would ever be able to recapture its ability to develop innovative products. Mary Jo points to the behemoth size of the company and the political infighting that drains resources from what should be the main strategic focus — better, fresher products and growing market share. I believe there are many creative people working for Microsoft, but, because of the large…

  • Microsoft Windows 7 upgrade program an absolute fiasco

    Nicole Bremer Nash
    3 Feb 2010 | 11:06 am
    Until last month, I had a relic of a computer on which I used Windows XP Professional. I liked XP; I found it reasonably easy to use. Of course, I learned most of my computer skills on XP, so I admit that I am partial to it for that reason. When I replaced that computer, I purchased a Lenovo that came with Windows Vista installed and the promise of a free Windows 7 upgrade. My husband replaced his relic PC at the same time. We had heard terrible things about Vista, so we sent away for our free upgrades as soon as the computers were unpacked. Immediate problems The first problem we had with…

  • Put the Classic Start menu in Windows 7 with Classic Shell

    Greg Shultz
    2 Feb 2010 | 12:18 pm
    On more than one occasion, I’ve looked through the discussions for the Windows 7 blog posts that I have written here at TechRepublic and found messages from angry Windows users that go something along the lines of “Because Microsoft took away the Classic Start menu in Windows 7, I am not going to upgrade!” When I see these types of messages, I imagine curmudgeonly folks sitting in front of an old Pentium II computer running Windows NT. Of course I know that is not a fair assessment, because many people I know who have either Windows XP or Windows Vista installed also use the…

  • How do I connect to a remote Windows 7 desktop from a Linux machine?

    Jack Wallen
    1 Feb 2010 | 12:03 pm
    Although most administrators do their work within a Windows environment, there are times when an administrator will want to (or have to) connect to a remote Windows machine from within a Linux machine. Now most administrators are used to doing this from within Windows. But from within Linux it is a different story. There are plenty of Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) tools available for Linux that allow you to connect to just about any platform, but for our purposes, we will be connecting to a Windows 7 desktop from an Ubuntu 9.10 desktop. But we’ll make this a bit more complicated. Since…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    LiveSide.net

  • Silverlight, MSN, Bing, and the Winter Olympics

    Kip Kniskern
    8 Feb 2010 | 7:27 pm
    The Winter Olympics, this year held in Vancouver, B.C., are just a few days away, and promise to be the most internet friendly Olympics, so far (especially if you’re in the US, we’re checking on the non-US story).  NBC Universal will again carry Silverlight-driven live coverage of many of the events, although the restrictions on what you can watch will be based on your cable or satellite package.  Brier Dudley of the Seattle Times explains the restrictions: In some ways, online broadcasts of the Vancouver Olympics preview what's coming from media companies, as they explore ways…

  • Mobile rumor mill heats up; Tom and Long to Liveblog

    Kip Kniskern
    6 Feb 2010 | 6:23 pm
    PPC Geeks published the latest in a slew of rumors on what to expect at Mobile World Congress (MWC), now just more than a week away.  In their post, the PPC Geeks expect to see at least the user interface, but not in depth functionality for Windows Mobile 7, which they call “Very Clean”, “Soulful” and “Alive”.  In addition, PPC Geeks says that according to their sources: the UI, code named Metro, will be very similar to the Zune UI No Flash, not enough time (umm, how long do they need?) App installation through Marketplace only No multi-tasking, but apps can be paused…

  • Well, we’re still blogging, anyway

    Kip Kniskern
    6 Feb 2010 | 9:56 am
    Kind of a sad note on the “Your mail is here, come and get it” blog, the official blog of Hotmail, as they are shutting down the blog and concentrating their efforts on Inside Windows Live.  We don’t necessarily disagree with the concept, but the Mail blog and LiveSide go way back, so it’s kind of like saying goodbye to an old friend. February 05 This blog is no longer active For a deeper exploration of the engineering behind Windows Live check out Inside Windows Live. And, for help with Windows Live try the Windows Live Solution Center. We said this back in 2007, just as Windows…

  • Bing to Enhance search on Facebook; end advertising partnership

    Kip Kniskern
    5 Feb 2010 | 7:55 am
    Just announced today on the Bing blog is news that Microsoft’s Bing will deepen its relationship with Facebook on search, and “will soon provide Facebook users with a more complete search experience by providing full access to great Bing features beyond a set of links, including richer answers combined with tools that help customers make faster, smarter decisions”. Bing will also extend its cooperation with Facebook outside of the US, “bringing the Bing-Facebook search integration to the more than 400 million people using Facebook around the world”. At the same time, Microsoft’s…

  • Bing: “built out to be a much larger player”, will be profitable, says Yusuf Mehdi

    Kip Kniskern
    2 Feb 2010 | 5:32 pm
    In an interview posted today at Reuters, Yusuf Mehdi, Senior Vice President, Online Audience Business, talked about the Yahoo! search deal, profitability, MSN, AOL, and more.  Mehdi expects closing the Yahoo! search deal to be a milestone moment, saying that “for advertisers, we are a credible No. 2”, once the deal closes.  Mehdi talked about profitability: The biggest part of moving into profit "is just getting the scale," said Mehdi. "We're built out to be a much larger player. We've spent the money and built out in such a way that we can be a player at scale.
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Microsoft Watch

  • Zune HD Price Cuts Could Signify Smartphone with Zune Software

    8 Feb 2010 | 10:38 am
    Zune HD 32GB and Zune HD 16GB are both $20 off at the online Microsoft Store, while the devices are also experiencing steep discounts on retailer sites such as Amazon.com. A fairly complete list of the price cuts can be found here.A few other bloggers have commented on this already, but I figured the sale was worth mentioning within the context of the Mobile World Congress rumors about a "Zune Phone," or smartphone with Zune software, making its debut at some undefined future point. Price cuts sometimes come simply because a manufacturer wants an uptick in sales of a particular product, but…

  • Microsoft Failing in Innovation, Former Executive Asserts

    5 Feb 2010 | 1:17 pm
    On Feb. 3, a former Microsoft executive named Dick Brass published an op-ed piece in The New York Times that suggested his ex-company was "failing" due to a combination of infighting and an inability to innovate. Those issues, Brass said, had led to Microsoft losing the lead on a number of technological developments, including e-reader technology, that if carried out successfully could have potentially led it to greater market share in various areas.For example, Brass suggests that work on a tablet PC was effectively hamstrung in 2001 when "the vice president in charge of Office at the time…

  • Microsoft Says Windows 7 Battery Life Investigation Under Way

    4 Feb 2010 | 2:26 pm
    Microsoft has been investigating user complaints related to the battery life of laptops running Windows 7, a problem that's apparently been drifting around since the widespread beta version was released into the wild. While there don't seem to be exact figures for the number of users affected, the issue does seem to occur for those users upgrading their laptops to Windows 7 from either Windows Vista or Windows XP. I queried Microsoft about the battery issue Feb. 3, and a spokesperson responded with: "Microsoft has been made aware that some computers running Windows 7 receive a warning that…

  • Windows Executive Mike Nash to Leave Microsoft

    3 Feb 2010 | 2:09 pm
    Microsoft executive Mike Nash, currently the corporate vice president for Windows Platform Strategy, is apparently preparing to leave the company. A widely circulated statement from a Microsoft spokesperson said Nash will depart "in a couple weeks." Nash spent 19 years at Microsoft, where he held a number of positions related to Windows and security. During a 2008 class action lawsuit filed against Microsoft over whether "Vista Capable" PCs could truly run that operating system, the plaintiffs' attorneys highlighted an internal e-mail from Nash that supposedly read: "I personally got burnt…

  • Sony Ericsson Phone Offers Tweaked Windows Mobile 6.5.3

    2 Feb 2010 | 2:20 pm
    The new Sony Ericsson Aspen smartphone made its debut on Feb. 2, which is of note because it's running the Windows Mobile 6.5.3 operating system. According to a Microsoft spokesperson, Windows Mobile 6.5.3 includes the following tweaks:User InterfaceCapacitive touch-screen supportPlatform to enable multitouchTouch controls throughout system (no need for stylus)Consistent navigationHorizontal scroll bar replaces tabs (think settings>system>about screen)Magnifier brings touch support to legacy applicationsSimplified out-of-box experience with fewer stepsDrag-and-drop icons on Start…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Geek In Disguise

  • Cloud security whitepapers

    stevecla01
    9 Feb 2010 | 7:49 am
      I just noticed Roger Halbheer has posted a couple of new whitepapers on Cloud Security that are not the usual techno megafest – these are more targeted at the executive summary level. The first paper is written by Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing organization and is a high-level overview of the Cloud and its security opportunities and challenges. It’s aptly titled Security in Cloud Computing Overview Cloud Computing Security Considerations is a CIO or CEO level paper and roger is looking for feedback on this one – you can drop him a line at roger.halbheer@microsoft.com…

  • UK Students get £1 per month web hosting

    stevecla01
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:08 am
    I know this looks like a big fat advert in the middle of my blog….and it is….sort of. I don’t get any money if you click on it though, it’s there to show what I think is a killer offer for UK students. For only £1 per month, any student in the UK can now get a free domain and web hosting that would normally cost £4.99 a month….these pesky kids eh ;) Anyway, Microsoft here in the UK have partnered with Webfusion (under their 123-reg brand) to launch a hosting package for students. All that’s needed is an ac.uk email address plus there is a link to our DreamSpark program to…

  • I’m a copper

    stevecla01
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:05 pm
    nice plagiarism – made me smile to see the Met Police having some fun with the Microsoft Windows campaign :)

  • Innovators Use Bing

    stevecla01
    7 Feb 2010 | 3:07 pm
      Innovators Use Bing apparently – count me as an innovator then ;) That’s all very nice of course and possibly true but the network effects of search engines (and advertising more importantly) mean you want to see that line tick upwards L-R rather than downwards as the innovators are by their very nature always looking for something new whereas the middle majority and laggards tend to be hard to shift once they’re using a product. Of course what you really want is the classic approach that innovators are the barometer for the future behaviour of the laggards but who’s to say…

  • B&W PC and Laptop Speaker

    stevecla01
    7 Feb 2010 | 9:11 am
    Do I need some new PC speakers? No, not really as my JBL’s are serving me wonderfully but these Bowers & Wilkins PC and laptop speakers really do look (and I imagine sound) rather nice. Need vs. want. Story of my life :) Time to add to my list for Mr S. Claus I think or ping @bowers_wilkins
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Craig Bailey on Microsoft

  • Microsoft IIS SEO Toolkit

    Craig Bailey
    8 Feb 2010 | 11:16 pm
    If you are interested in knowing a little more about the IIS SEO Toolkit (I give it the big thumbs up), I’ve written a little review over on my XEN SEO blog (note I originally wrote the review based on the beta version, but it has been updated based on the release in mid Jan). Plus, as mentioned in my previous post, I also discussed the SEO Toolkit with Andrew and Michael on Frankly Speaking last week.And if you are in Sydney tomorrow (Wed 10 Feb), I’ll be presenting on it at the Sydney Windows User Group (here’s the SWUG post with details). Tomorrow will be a big night – its the…

  • Frankly Speaking on SEO

    Craig Bailey
    7 Feb 2010 | 12:06 am
    A big thank you to Andrew Coates and Michael Kordahi for having me on their Frankly Speaking podcast to chat about SEO. You can listen to it here.Frankly Speaking (for those who aren’t yet familiar with it) is an Australian Tech podcast (or perhaps even an Australian Microsoft podcast) and listening to it should be on your weekly To-Do list.SEO is a big topic of course so we only scratched the surface, but here’s a summary and links to the various items we touched on:Danny Sullivan on SEO for Bill Gates – in which Danny reviewed Bill Gates’ new site The Gates Notes and provided a…

  • Putting the boot in to Microsoft

    Craig Bailey
    5 Feb 2010 | 8:45 pm
    Apparently February is ‘put the boot into Microsoft’ month. I must have missed the memo. Or perhaps it only got sent to the ex-senior-management@microsoft.com mailing list. In any case it’s been good to see that some have taken the directive to heart. Oh hang on, cancel that – there actually hasn’t been much said by former softies at all. Instead it’s just all the noise of journalists (and Microsoft!) reporting on what one or two (and perhaps three) former softies said.If you haven’t yet written your own second-hand post about the internal woes of working at Microsoft and how…

  • Search as an Experience

    Craig Bailey
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:10 am
    It’s easy to think of search (ie searching on Google or Bing) as simply a (boring) research activity. And in turn, to think that all the innovation in search is about providing a ‘better’ result. But what does ‘better’ mean when it comes to search?Joseph Pine’s TED talk on what consumers want is a good insight into how the search game is changing (and hat tip to Michael Gray for the link and thought). Joseph’s talk is from 2004, but his point is relevant now. It’s essentially this: people want an experience. And they want an experience with authenticity. Consider how the UX…

  • Search market increases in 2009

    Craig Bailey
    2 Feb 2010 | 4:39 pm
    It should come as no surprise that search engine usage is increasing – but perhaps the rate of increase will (come as a surprise that is). comScore figures released this month show that search usage (note: includes search engines and related properties)  increased by 46% in 2009. Google sites were in the order of 58% increase.That’s significant. How many industries do you know (or work in) that have that kind of increase? Whether you take the numbers as a threat or an opportunity is up to you, but either way you should be acting on them. It’s rare to find a business these days…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    The Region: News and Views of Microsoft Regional Directors

  • Cost Effective Backup Strategy for a Small Organization

    Patrick Hynds
    8 Feb 2010 | 1:46 pm
    Patrick Hynds's blog | TechTalk Patrick Hynds writes "...how to cost effectively do backup and Disaster Recovery (DR) for a 50 or so person organization. Here is what I have found to be a pretty good way to go that won't break the bank..." Read post »

  • Interesting Idea - a Closed OS Launching Into the Browser as a Pure Web Device

    Markus Egger
    8 Feb 2010 | 1:46 pm
    Markus Egger's blog | TechTalk Markus Egger writes "...So how about Google’s Chrome OS?...A solid state drive will make booting a very fast operation....So for many scenarios, users will be happy with web browsers, but at the same time, they are losing the ability to do anything on their machines. No Word documents to create, no Outlook, no games to play. Will users really be happy using..." Read post »

  • Technology Predictions for 2010

    Sondre Bjellas
    8 Feb 2010 | 1:46 pm
    Sondre Bjellas's blog | TechTalk Sondre Bjellas writes "...My main major prediction for The Tens is that it will represents a dramatic shift towards subscription based models for everything...model will become more global, span country borders and become available to anyone, anytime, from anywhere – from any status in society...Another big area of development will be towards simplicity, in all it’s forms and shapes..." Read post »

  • Read and Recommended: Inbound Marketing and Small Business Trends

    Steven Smith
    8 Feb 2010 | 1:45 pm
    Steven Smith's blog | Suggested Reading Steven Smith writes "...inbound marketing differs from outbound in that you are helping customers who may be looking for you or a service like yours, rather than reaching out to potential customers and interrupting them during whatever they’re doing and trying to drag them to your site. There was a great quote from Dharmesh that actually prompted me to buy this book:..." Read post »

  • Azure Walkthrough Setting up a Secure Site with SSL Certificate

    Sondre Bjellas
    8 Feb 2010 | 1:45 pm
    Sondre Bjellas's blog | Editors Picks Sondre Bjellas writes "...Installing and configuring HTTPS certificates is sometimes hard, but I hope this walkthrough...[shows] you how quickly...you can get up and running with a valid SSL certificate..." Read post »
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Microsoft EMEA Press Centre

  • The Economist features Qi Lu, the Microsoft Executive leading Microsoft's Online Services Division

    5 Feb 2010 | 2:30 am
    Qi Lu, president of Microsoft's Online Services Division, talks about Bing’s development, innovation and challenging Google in the online search and advertising business. Lu sums up the re-launch of Bing and how it aims provide not only search, but advice and recommendation to help improve decision making. The article points out new features innovated by Microsoft which allow users to search the latest tweets and enable Bing to offer extra contextual information like lyrics when searching for musicians. Click the link to see the full article on Economist.com.

  • 'Maga No Need Pay': Nigeria Gets Creative to Fight Cyber Scams

    4 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am
    This week in Abuja, Nigeria, members of the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit and Microsoft Nigeria are meeting with the Economic and Financial Crime Commission of Nigeria (EFCC) and other international stakeholders to plan programs to combat Internet fraud in West Africa. Read here some of the innovative initiatives and efforts taken in West Africa this week to combat cybercrime.

  • Windows Azure General Availability, February 1st , 2010

    2 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am
    Microsoft reaches a significant milestone announcing the general availability of Windows Azure and SQL Azure in 21 countries. Starting from February 1st, customers and partners across the globe will be able to launch their Windows Azure and SQL Azure production applications and services with the support of the full Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

  • Microsoft helps third party app developers adopt more secure development practices

    2 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am
    At Black Hat DC, Microsoft will give away a new beta tool, announce an expansion to the Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) Pro Network and release guidance entitled Simplified Implementation of the Microsoft SDL. Microsoft’s SDL is an industry best practice. Based on a belief that more secure code is a benefit to all, Microsoft Trustworthy Computing group is committed to sharing its SDL tools and knowledge with the broader developer community. Since April 2008, four free tools have been downloaded more than 48,000 times and 10 sets of guidance more than 75,000 times.

  • Microsoft Brings Cloud Interoperability Down to Earth

    1 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am
    Microsoft executives discuss practical examples of interoperability in the cloud.
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Pocket-lint: Microsoft

  • NEWS: Microsoft offers family-friendly version of Internet Explorer 8

    Amy-Mae Elliott
    9 Feb 2010 | 2:15 am
    "Click Clever Click Safe" with the CEOP While IE6 continues to give it headaches, Microsoft has announced a special kid-safe version of Internet Explorer 8 that it has partnered with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre to launch. Available for download now, the customised version of the browser - "Internet Explorer 8 Click Clever Click Safe" - promotes online safety for families as well as offering direct links through to the CEOP. ? "Internet safety advice needs to be at your fingertips and not hidden away. Parents and children should not have to go searching through numerous…

  • NEWS: Xbox pulls plug on Xbox Live

    Stuart Miles
    5 Feb 2010 | 1:30 am
    Making way for new changes Xbox has called time on supporting its original Xbox console with its Live service announcing that it's pulling the plug. "On April 15 we will discontinue the Xbox LIVE service for original Xbox consoles and games, including Xbox v1 games playable on Xbox 360 and Xbox Originals", the GM of Xbox LIVE has said in a letter to gamers. Putting the blame on a need to continue to grow the service beyond the 23 million users it already boasts, Microsoft has said in a statement that: "To reach our aspiration, we need to make changes to the service that are incompatible with…

  • REVIEWS: Forza Motorsport 3 - Xbox 360

    Chris Hall
    5 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am
    Perfect for a wet winter weekend Forza 3 was an undoubted hit of 2009, one that we enjoyed playing so much, that it never got reviewed, so we thought we'd correct that. It comes in to supplant Forza 2, which launched in 2007, blending a huge variety of tracks and cars and a game we loved. Forza 3 races in with over 400 cars to choose from and over 100 tracks to race. The choice is truly staggering, you won't find every car you can think of, but most of those cars you've lusted over are in here: Ferrari, Aston Martin, Audi and a range of models across classifications, from the humble Ford…

  • NEWS: VIDEO OF THE DAY - Project Natal

    Ian Hughes
    4 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am
    The future is on its way - fast I don’t care how many people explain the maths and the science behind Project Natal, it’s still witchcraft as far as I’m concerned. This series of demos and interviews with the people behind it shows what the next step in the evolution of gaming is all about. It also forms part of the Connect a Million Minds programme designed to inspire the next generation of eggheads. See our Website of the Day for more on that. The Wii freaked me out – this will seriously mess with my reality. If you've seen a video online that you want to tell us…

  • NEWS: Microsoft investigating Windows 7 battery issues

    Duncan Geere
    3 Feb 2010 | 7:54 am
    Reporting that batteries are dead before they are Microsoft has said that it's probing reports that Windows 7 is falsely reporting problems with batteries. Many users have complained that the OS warns that power is exhausted before it is, and even that the battery needs to be replaced entirely. The software manufacturer has tried to shift the blame on hardware manufacturers, saying: "The warning received in Windows 7 uses firmware information to determine if battery replacement is needed", however it seems that users are experiencing the same problems across a range of models including Acer,…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    ithinkdifferrent

  • iPhone 4G Leaked Pictures!

    Eddie
    9 Feb 2010 | 12:17 am
     iResQ has released pictures claiming they have the parts of the next generation iPhone 4G. As you can see it’s a bit taller then the last iPhones. But bear in mind, these pictures can be fake, and just for marketing purposes by iResQ. There seems to be a reflective surface over the phone’s speakers, which could mean it’s getting a camera. But don’t believe anything you see until it’s officially announced. Now I saw a lot of people complaining about the lack of big differences in the terms of looks, but does that really matter? I don’t think so. Sure a bigger screen might…

  • Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4 release candidate now available for MSDN subscribers

    Imran Hussain
    8 Feb 2010 | 9:37 pm
    Visual Studio 2010, the latest version of Microsoft’s IDE with a new improved UI built using WPF and tools for Windows 7 and SharePoint 2010 development has already been delayed. Originally slated for 22nd March, the release was delayed to performance issues. The latest launch date has been set for April 12, 2010. Appropriately, Microsoft has delivered a release candidate build for Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4 framework. It is currently available for download to MSDN subscribers while it will be available for public download on 10th February. According to Mary Jo Foley’s findings,…

  • HTC Incredible caught in the wild with Android 2.1 + Sense UI goodness

    Eddie
    8 Feb 2010 | 7:51 am
    Pocket Now got themselves some pictures of the HTC incredible which is destined to be on Verizon’s Network. It’s an Android 2.1 phone with Sense UI slapped on top of it for eye candy and added functionality. Looking at the specifications, we would like to call this the HD2 of Android 2.1 smartphones but then the Nexus One had better specifications ( more RAM ). But is the Incredible really incredible? We’ll let the specifications do the talking:Android 2.1 with HTC SenseRuns 1GHz Snapdragon CPU256 MB of RAM3.5-3.7” WVGA ScreenMay have an AMOLED/OLED screenOptical TrackPad5MP camera…

  • Android 2.1 coming to Droid?

    Eddie
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:49 am
    Droid users rejoice! I just got informed that Android 2.1 is now being tested for the Motorola Droid. And from the looks of it, it will be a lot like the Nexus One update. I think Verizon finally listened to the many complaining users about getting 2.1 on the Droid, but bear in mind nothing is for sure, any last minute changes can occur, and the estimated time of release is still unclear. Here are the upcoming features:It’s based on Android 2.1, just like last week’s Nexus One update.Awesomeness: The browser is not multitouch just like Google Maps 3.4, no Flash though, which doesn’t…

  • BlackBerry twitter clients: Seesmic or UberTwitter?

    Eddie
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:21 am
    We can’t deny the fact that Twitter is growing everyday. Twitter is now attached to our everyday life. That’s why it isn’t limited just to the desktop, it’s also on everyone’s phones now. You can access it via your data connection ( use the the mobile website ), or just download a twitter client. One of the most popular smartphones, BlackBerry, also has many twitter clients. The top two are Seesmic, and UberTwitter. I wanted to add OpenBeak to the list, but it’s just horrible. Let’s have a look at the two apps and how they compete with each other in terms of various features.
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Satisfy Me

  • Suggestions for weekend reading, Bill Gates explains why vaccines matter, and more of what I've read this week

    mthree
    5 Feb 2010 | 9:45 pm
    This week John C. Maxwell offered this famous QOTD: Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. – Thomas Edison To end the work week, Dominic Carr offers his own suggestions for weekend reading on the Microsoft Blog It’s Friday afternoon again, and time to wrap up some of the interesting things that happened this week that you might not have seen.  It is Super Bowl weekend here in the US and so it only seems fair to start with something sports related. Jordan Brand taps Microsoft technologies:  The Jordan Brand…

  • Reminder: Windows 7 RC Expires on June 1, 2010

    mthree
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:39 pm
    A reminder that the Windows 7 release candidate (RC) will expire soon. Beginning February 15, users of Windows 7 RC will begin seeing notifications on your computers, with warnings that the OS on the PC will soon expire. Starting on March 1, 2010 your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Your work will not be saved during the shutdown. The Windows 7 RC will fully expire on June 1, 2010. Any PC running the Windows 7 RC will shut down every two hours and files won’t be saved during shutdown. As noted on the site… "In addition, your wallpaper will change to a solid black…

  • Webcast now available: Some of the changes made in the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC)

    mthree
    4 Feb 2010 | 2:48 pm
    Yesterday, Chris Trimmer from WWLP described in a Webcast some of the changes recently made in our Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) with more information on improvements to the site. As you may know (especially if you are a Microsoft Volume License customer), the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) is an online tool helps customers and partners manage VL program agreements, get access to licensed products and associated product VL keys. Registered partners and customers may access the VLSC here. The February 3 Partner Webcast has more info from the VLSC team on "the…

  • Tips & Tricks: How to deauthorize Apple iTunes on all computers associated with your account

    mthree
    2 Feb 2010 | 8:03 pm
    Yes, I use lots of different software, including applications from companies of all sizes, from WinZip to Scansoft, to popular applications from Adobe, Intuit, Microsoft (of course) and many more. And yes, I also use software from Apple. We own lots of different devices and systems in our home, and we have iTunes installed to manage content we purchased pre Zune days(mainly videos of network shows we missed on our Replay TV DVR or Media Center PC). As I was logging on to my account I noticed that I had reached the maximum number of authorized computers for iTunes (it's five). Unfortunately,…

  • New Tablets, Slates, and Pads: oh, my. 2010 will be an interesting, touch-fueled year.

    mthree
    27 Jan 2010 | 4:45 pm
    Today's been a busy day, what with work and getting pinged with the press on the new tablet products coming from Silicon Valley, as noted here with an inside look at the HP Slate (the model that made its debut at CES). None other than HP's CTO Phil McKinney shows off the the Slate in a "History of Innovation" in his latest blog post on HP's The Next Bench blog. Oh, yes, and there is the new Apple iPad, too. More info on the new Apple iPad via Bing here. There are some choice updates from people and press in attendance at the event today in San Francisco in my twitter feed. A comment…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Live Search Webmaster

  • Eggs, bacon, spam, spam, and spam (SEM 101)

    Webmaster Center team
    4 Feb 2010 | 4:02 pm
    What is spam? One could argue that spam is a multi-faceted thing. The word itself has many definitions. For example, it can be defined as a processed spiced ham and pork slathered with a gelatinous glaze food product found in a tin (it's apparently very popular in Hawai'i, don't you know?). However, spam is also often used to reference a very popular comedy sketch written and performed on Monty Python's Flying Circus (it was punctuated with a waitress reciting a menu in which the canned meat was used multiple times as a featured ingredient in almost every dish, which drives a woman customer…

  • New Webmaster Center FAQ available

    Webmaster Center team
    21 Dec 2009 | 11:32 am
    Everybody loves a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ). They often include tidbits of knowledge that are not easily found elsewhere, or present information in ways that often make it more understandable. The Webmaster Center team has been working hard to present more useful content through the team blog in recent months. We already have a FAQ of sorts through the Webmaster Center Help (see the Help system's left hand navigation for the Help-based FAQ). We also have some FAQ content in the Webmaster Center forums. We've also published a series of Webmaster Center blog comment Q&A posts…

  • IIS SEO Toolkit 1.0 hits the streets! (SEM 101)

    Webmaster Center team
    30 Nov 2009 | 12:12 pm
    In August, we alerted webmasters to the news from the Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) team of the beta 1 release of their excellent new tool, the IIS SEO Toolkit. The public response we received was very enthusiastic and supportive. In response to many requests, we followed that up with a more detailed article explaining how the new tool is installed as an extension of IIS 7. Since that time, the tool was refreshed in a beta 2 release and, as of November 13, a full version 1.0 release. Given the deserved popularity of the tool among web developers and search engine optimizers, I…

  • Webmaster Center blog comments Q&A, Round 2

    Webmaster Center team
    23 Nov 2009 | 12:43 pm
    We still get many questions in our blog comments, even though we try to encourage our readers to post their questions to our Webmaster Center forums (which are actually staffed to answer your questions!). I do look through the blog comments every day and delete those that are junk (those that are empty, duplicated, offensive, and overtly spammy - see our Q&A reply on why blog comments are deleted in the 1st Webmaster Center blog Q&A post). But I don't always get a chance to address the individual questions posted there. Since so many folks still ask questions in the blog comments,…

  • Link building for smart webmasters (no dummies here) (SEM 101)

    Webmaster Center team
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:25 pm
    In past SEM 101 articles, we've talked about the importance of inbound links to successful ranking (see "Links: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" - Part 1 and Part 2). We've already discussed many issues surrounding them, but we haven't done a dedicated post on how to be successful at link building from a search engine's perspective. Let's finally address that omission here and now. What is the point of building links? Your website is your self-representation on the Web. It's a major asset to your business, often simultaneously serving as your online business card, an introductory company…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    The Microsoft MVP Award Program Blog

  • French Silverlight MVP Eric Ambrosi releases "Pratique de Silverlight"

    a-jomira
    2 Feb 2010 | 3:15 pm
    Silverlight MVP, Eric Ambrosi has written a book called “Pratique de Silverlight” about design elements of Silverlight applications, starting from the display list, to loading external data in the design model MVVM through prototyping or organizational workflow. The “Pratique de Silverlight” is written in French and is available for download in PDF format from Pearson France. The book is rich with downloadable examples for both designer and for developers. Ambrosi has been a multimedia graphic designer since 1998. He co-founded the European School of Animation. With a background…

  • Online SharePoint Saturday EMEA !

    EmilyF
    19 Jan 2010 | 9:12 pm
    On January 23rd, it will be held the first online EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) Sharepoint Conference, covering all the different timezones, called “SharePoint Saturday EMEA” Featuring MVPs Ágnes Molnár (Hungary), Claudio Brotto (Italy), Jan Tielens (Belgium), Marwan Tarek (Egypt), Mostafa Elzoghbi (USA), Muhanad Omar (Jordan), Nicolas Georgeault (France), Steve Smith (United Kingdom), Zlatan Dzinic (South Africa) and other important IT Professionals and Developers from all around the Globe,“the SharePoint Saturday EMEA is a global event, with participating speakers calling in…

  • Mac MVP Contributes to Apple Script Book

    EmilyF
    18 Jan 2010 | 11:50 am
    Technorati Tags: MVP Award Program,AppleScript,USA,Office 2008 for Mac,MVP,Barry Wainwright MVP Barry Wainwright recently contributed to a chapter for the book ‘Learn AppleScript: The Comprehensive Guide to Scripting and Automation on Mac OS X’. The title offers a 50 page section on scripting Office for Mac applications (Entourage, Word, Excel and PowerPoint). The book has an emphasis on practical information that will help users to solve any automation problem from the most mundane repetitive tasks, to highly integrated workflows of complex systems. Friendly enough for beginners, and…

  • Japanese MVP Releases Windows Azure Book!

    EmilyF
    5 Jan 2010 | 1:03 am
    Solutions Architect MVP Tatsuaki Sakai recently contributed to a new book entitled, “Introduction to Windows Azure”with Microsoft Architect Evangelist Shinichiro Isago and two other authors. This is the first technical book designed for .NET and non .NET developers, and covers Windows Azure in the Japanese language.   Tatsuaki began using Windows Azure during the technical preview, and is now one of the Azure community leaders in Japan. In his new book, he looks at the challenges that Cloud Computing brings to the Enterprise. The book also examines Microsoft’s Cloud Computing…

  • MVP Releases Programming Course on Writing Computer Games

    Jas Dhaliwal
    16 Dec 2009 | 12:20 am
      MVP Rob Miles has produced a programming course, for students who have no prior experience in writing games in C# and the XNA Game Studio. The course is designed to engage students with the craft of programming, by the creation of gameplay using the XNA game framework. Overview of the course "Getting Started Making Games with C# and XNA Game Studio" is a programming course for senior high school or undergraduate students with no prior programming experience. It is intended to engage students with the craft of programming by the creation of gameplay using the XNA game…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Mitchell Ashley's blog

  • Apple iPad - The Netbook/Tablet PC/Low End Laptop Killer

    Mitchell Ashley
    27 Jan 2010 | 5:03 pm
    Well, I'm impressed with what Apple's put in the new iPad. My view on the iPad? It will be a big hit. iPad is a Kindle, netbook, tablet PC and (to some degree) low end laptop killer. The iPad is also a viable alternative to laptop use in many situations. I consider the Apple iPad a "lifestyle" version of the netbook or laptop, rather than a desktop "lite" experience running on a smaller device. iPad...

  • 7 Apple iTablet/iSlate/iPad Rumors That Will Live Or Die

    Mitchell Ashley
    27 Jan 2010 | 6:55 am
    Wow, there's nearly as much interest in today's Apple iTablet/iSlate/iPad announcement as there was back with the original Macintosh. The amount of rumors and wild speculation, including product mockups and videos... it's simply amazing. All of this drama is leading up to some hefty expectations for Apple's iSlate. Today's announcement should affirm or kill off most of those rumors. So, let's take...

  • Will Microsoft Lose the Tablet Market to Apple Too?

    Mitchell Ashley
    26 Jan 2010 | 1:44 pm
    Microsoft's failing to even show a heartbeat of a mobile OS response to the Apple iPhone and Google Android is not new news. The next shoe to fall may be the tablet market, with tomorrow's expected announcement of the iSlate, iTablet, iWin from Apple. A desktop and laptop OS like Windows enabled the tablet PC but it hasn't created a new market of consumer devices of the likes Apple is expected to usher...

  • Steve Ballmer: Google Android "just some words on paper". You can say the same about Windows Mobile 7 today.

    Mitchell Ashley
    22 Jan 2010 | 12:02 am
    Google Android is winning over customers, whether Microsoft's Steve Ballmer wants to admit it or not. In a Tokyo press conference in 2007, Ballmer referred to Google's upcoming Android OS as "just some words on paper right now" and "right now they have a press release -- we have many, many millions of customers…". Read more

  • Google's Loss in China is Microsoft's Gain

    Mitchell Ashley
    15 Jan 2010 | 9:48 am
    Big topic this week… Google retaliates against China's government attacks on Google's intellectual property and human rights activists email accounts. Ballmer say's we'll stay and obey Chinese laws. There's an old saying; "don't get in front of someone trying to commit suicide" and I would say that's exactly what we have in this case. Read more
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Geekword

  • What comes after Google’s Froyo? Gingerbread

    Muhammad Ali
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:01 am
    All of us like and love the cool codenames that Google assigns to its various Android versions. Donut, Eclair and Froyo represent a series of the magnificent naming convention adopted by the search engine giants for its mobile OS. The codename for next Google Android version has just been unleashed. Gingerbread is the name of Froyo’s successor. Interestingly this name comes at a time when Eclair’s successor i.e. Froyo is yet to be released. This cool information was shared by Brian Swetland, Android’s Kernel guru. Brian while unveiling this cool name also unveiled that the Android 2.1…

  • Sn0wBreeze 3.1.3 updated to 1.5, brings iPhone 3.1.3 jailbreak for iPod Touch 2G

    Muhammad Ali
    9 Feb 2010 | 9:27 am
    Sn0wBreeze 3.1.3 updates keep coming thick and fast. This time v3.1.3 of Sn0wBreeze has been updated to version 1.5. What does this update bring you ask? iPod Touch 2G running on iPhone 3.1.3 can be jailbroken using this tool. More details after the jump. Just to refresh your mind, sn0wbreeze is a tool that will jailbreak your iPods and iPhones, setup custom boot logos, activate your iPhone, root partition size, build custom IPSW. Sn0wBreeze 3.1.3 v1.5 which is for Windows only, can jailbreak iPhone 3.1.3 running on the following devices: iPhone 3GS (non MC, old bootrom) iPhone 3G iPhone 2G…

  • T-Mobile HTC HD2 to bring multi-touch love

    Muhammad Ali
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:47 am
    What is one thing that you always cherish and want to have in your touch-screen phone? Multi-touch is the answer I am looking for. It turns out that T-Mobile HTC HD2 will be bringing multi-touch to USA based users. This is no rumor. This is official. If you don’t believe us just see the official HTC HD2 specification page here. Capacitive touch screen with pinch-to-zoom is the magical line you are looking for. What do we get from this? HTC and T-Mobile are looking to fire in all cylinders and make HTC HD2 a big hit once it rolls. The big question here is this – do you intend to purchase…

  • What’s included in Visual Studio 2010 RC

    Muhammad Ali
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:07 am
    A few hours back, we shared with you the news of Visual Studio 2010 RC going live. I just had this curiosity of finding out the contents of the release candidate of Visual Studio 2010. My curiosity was satisfied and thus I am here sharing with you the items you will be getting from the pre-release Visual Studio 2010 version. To make things interesting the RC version brings to you the Ultimate edition of Visual Studio 2010, which means you can do all sort of possible things without any restriction whatsoever. More after the jump. Visual Studio 2010 RC contents Visual Studio 2010 becomes…

  • WordPress for iPhone updated to 2.2, enhances comment moderation

    Muhammad Ali
    9 Feb 2010 | 1:50 am
    WordPress, recently has been pretty much active. During the last week they rolled out WordPress for Android, followed it with the BlackBerry version. iPhone users would have been thinking that WordPress has forgotten about them. But trust us, they haven’t. Enter WordPress for iPhone 2.2. The latest update to the WordPress for iPhone brings enhanced and increased comment moderation capabilities. By the way, the app is available for free. Download link and features list after the jump. WordPress for iPhone 2.2 features The features that WordPress fore iPhone 2.2 brings include: Reply to…
 
Log in